NEW BLOG!

hey party people...

i've got a new (and much improved) blog! so head on over, and update your RSS feeds. i moved everything from here over there, so...no need to come back here EVER AGAIN.

www.gwynethcolleen.com/blog

there'll just be a few minor things that need tweaking, so bear with me while i get everything all shined and polished, and then...enjoy!

(incidentally wordpress > blogger...bigtime.)

confession

i am a cat person. i love my furry little feline...i think he is hilarious and cuddly.

to wit:



wanna see it bigger?

jessica & brian: wedded bliss

remember jess and brian...? you should...they're just one post below this one. the two lovely people with the GORGEOUS blue peepers? (fyi: it's late, and i just typed "GORGEOUS blue peppers"...i'm not sure what gorgeous blue peppers look like, but if you know, please enlighten me.)

anyway, they just got married on 1/19 at the bedford village inn in bedford, nh. and it was a FANTASTIC party! their family made me feel SOOOO welcome and included in the festivities; they were absolutely lovely. i mean...jess's (jess'...? how do apostrophes work for words ending in s? i feel like there shouldn't be one there, but it doesn't look right w/o the extra s. ANYWAY.) brother-in-law stopped me on the stairs before i'd even gotten to her room, introduced himself, and told me how much he enjoyed their engagement photos. knowing my work is appreciated makes me feel GREAT and totally free to "do my THANG" at the wedding. (not to mention that jill at the inn was professional and so accommodating to my strange questions.)

when i meet with new brides, i get a range of responses to, "would you like me to capture the getting ready process?" some people don't care about it at all...but i really enjoy getting to catalog the transformation into "bride". something happens when a woman has been pampered all day, is wearing the prettiest dress she has probably owned to date, and most importantly...knows that the man waiting at the end of that aisle is waiting to tell her he's going to love her wholeheartedly until his last breath. there's a reason women are always told, "you're glowing!" on their wedding day.









(and may i just say...guys have it much easier! i mean...seriously:)



aaaaandddd...he's ready!


her two gorgeous sisters watching brian wait for his bride at the end of the aisle.


(side note: did you see "27 dresses"? i don't consider myself a terribly discriminating movie goer...and, admittedly, i quite like cheesy romantic comedies...this one was rather painful, though...anyway, as a member of the "wedding industry"...i can confirm that one of the best parts of a wedding is watching the groom watch his bride come to meet him. the look on brian's face here says it all. i can't wait till it's my turn to see that look on someone's face as i walk toward him. but this isn't about me, is it...)

it was very much a family affair. jess's aunt performed the ceremony. brian's sister and her husband held the huppa (which was lovingly crafted by jess's younger sister), many family members lit candles during the ceremony, and all four parents walked out elbows entwined.







i can't tell you what my secrets are--but i do have them!--for getting such FUN family photos...but if you hire me, i'll make sure your family looks like it was having this much fun at your wedding, too. the group shots don't have to be painful and stiff! i promise!



**i should just tell you right now, that instead of putting way too many photos in this post, i'll add a few extra words, and then give you a slideshow link. so that you don't have to scroll for 100 years to see everything.**

i was GOING to post photos of guest candids, because i got some of my all time favourites at this wedding...instead...i'll suggest you watch the slideshow.

also...i was GOING to tell you about how i had 15 minutes with the bride and groom...outside...in the snow...after it was dark...and how we managed to get some awesome and moody images anyway (which involved me laying on the salt-covered ground and stone-cold (yeah, there's a REASON for that phrase) stone benches...but instead...i'm just going to point you to the slideshow.

i could also tell you how they had their entire (HUGE) extended family come into one little fireside room for a group photo and that i got one (yes, ONE!) shot where i managed to fit everyone in the frame...and that was lucky because i was holding my camera over my head), but instead...yes, you guessed it...watch the slideshow!

and lastly, i might have mentioned how much i enjoy jewish weddings because they have the hora...and come on now...a big group of people doing the grapevine around other people who are being lifted on chairs and held together by a napkin and there's always that suspenseful collective held-breath---are they going to make it back to solid ground before they tip over? but, i hope you'll see that enjoyment in...the slideshow.

without further ado:

travel on the cheap

holy cows, guys!

i've been booking travel for some out of town weddings i have this summer (one in columbus, one in indianapolis). i live fewer than 10 miles from portsmouth, so...

www.skybus.com is my new best friend! i do not feel guilty asking someone to drive me 20 mins to the airport. and my roundtrip ticket to columbus in may was only $106!

so...my friend suggested that for the indianapolis trip, i should fly skybus again and then take megabus. (dot com) i was a little skeptical, because budget airlines are a hassle, and then to take a 3 hour bus ride after flying...blugh. worth the money i'd save? so...i pretended to make a reservation, and then megabus told me that my fare would be $2.50. ROUNDTRIP.

dudes. that. is. AWESOME!

jess & brian: engaged

jessica and brian are getting married in bedford, nh. in 9 days. getting married in january...they had their pick of vendors, so i am so honored that they chose me to be their photographer!

we didn't have much time to try to fit in an engagement session...especially with the holidays right bang in the middle of our 1.5-2 month window. but we made it happen! amy of ardent photography (in neenah, wisconsin--they're the ones who make all the grates in our roads and sidewalks, apparently) flew in to help me photograph that amazing 12/30 wedding i keep referring to (be patient...it's coming!) and i met jess & brian at south station.




(i had a hard time letting go of any of the ones from this series...these two have those amazing blue eyes, and the connection between them was just wonderful.)



















you guys are great...usually i have a lot more to say about the images, but i think these speak for themselves. i can't wait for your wedding in...only...9 days!

surprise!

a few months ago, i got an email from a lovely young man named fred. he wanted to surprise his fiance for her birthday with a photo session.

they're both archaeologists, and in addition to organizing everything with me, he also did his homework. he went scouting and had lots of ideas for locations. (usually, during these types of sessions, we agree to meet in a particular area, and then we kind of wander around with me randomly going, "here! here's good! stop. ok, um...where do i want you to stand." i always wonder if it's strange for me to be mid-conversation and then suddenly start flapping about and issuing directions...before pausing to figure out what i REALLY want them to do.

anyway...fred kept his secret right up until i met them at the copley square t-stop. he introduced me and then explained that i was a photographer, and we were going to do a photo session...he was so thorough, and he'd thought of everything! he even had her dress extra nice.

he wanted to bring in lots of structural and architectural elements, so i kept an eye out for those details while shooting.






i even noticed the spikes on the lamps outside the public library, and made him stand still so that i could make it look like he had the same headdress as the witch king of angmar-lord of the nazgul. (ok, for the record: i knew it looked nazgulian, but i have a LOTR geek friend whom i consulted to remember that he lived at the top of caradhras, and what is name was.)



i'd never been inside the boston public library before, but...it's amazing! i thought it was a museum at first.








i think this one is inside trinity church.


i love this outtake...it's not perfect, but it's a real and sweet moment.



fred even managed to WILL himself not to shiver so that they would look relaxed instead of just cold...i think he did a great job!

thanks fred and jessica for the great boston outing. i had lots of fun with you, and jessica--you're a lucky girl!

chris & kate: engagement

a few weeks month and a half ago i went up to south portland/cape elizabeth, maine to do engagement photos with kate and chris.

i love their story...they grew up on the same street...then met randomly 15 years later in a bar. she heard someone go, "is that katie?" and turned around to say, "who is calling me katie?" and left knowing he was going to look her up. she was right.

we met at fort williams park (which is SERIOUSLY cool, and i could go hang out there and jump around on rocks and climb on old fort structures for days.) and TRESPASSED...to get inside this area. yep...just ignored the signs...i felt so rockstar and dangerous. (hey, i'm a goodie-two-shoes...it doesn't take much.)


this is kate climbing into the abandoned structure that had "no trespassing" signs all over it. please note chris's head below her elbow. he was the short-girls' human stepladder.


more trespassing. woo.


chris was a ranger in the army a few years back, and he's still very much the "running, jumping, climbing trees" sort. "follow me!" indeed. i loved watching him with kate...he thrived on being her protector and helping her navigate all the precarious positions i asked her to get into. (to be fair, her jeans were very long and she was wearing some very hott purple heels.)


she looks so america's next top model FIERCE in this one...plus, you can see the hott purple heels.


when i saw this one, i actually gasped. out loud. i know...that's a little embarrassing, but...c'mon...it is steamy!


i do so love a good silhouette.

then we went to explore the fort part of for williams park. there were these forgotten and colourfully graffiti-ed bunkers that i, well, i guess we all had some fun with. in different ways, of course. mine involved crawling onto a ledge 100 feet above the rocky sea, theirs was a little more conventional...(and no, i do not have photos of me in precarious positions, but hire me...and you'll get to see for yourself. )




chris is a hoot, and he kept us laughing the whole time...kate's a lucky girl...if you don't have laughter, what do you have?




i love how peaceful and content and in love they look in this one. like everything is right in the world.



chris also made the two of them an awesome website... www.chrate.com
their tagline is: "stronger together"...i love that. that's what it's about, right?

belated.

happy new year, everyone!

what's the deal with time? it just barrels at you like a freight train, and NEVER gives you a break! i feel like i'm always on the run...anyone else?

and, because of that, and my oldest child penchant for "being right" and "doing it well"...combined with my fierce procrastination tendencies...i am always loathe to make new year's resolutions. because as i've been told...i'm "self-intelligent"...and i KNOW i'll probably give up after a couple months. (so why set myself up for failure? i mean, come on now!)

that said...i am also quite a goal oriented person, and i think i'm fairly good at making things happen in my life. SO...i guess what i'm trying to say with all this random psycho-babble is: i am so very, very cognizant of the fact that it has been a MONTH since i posted here. a month. and that is in no way because i've had nothing to say. so, one of my goals for 2008 is to be a much more prolific blogger. i don't have to have all 20 of my favourites ready to post here...it'll be o-k. :-D

keep me accountable, peeps!

before i go...amy flew in from WI to second shoot for me at the VERY fabulous 12/30 wedding i just photographed. (stay tuned!) we explored the north end of boston the next day, and she grabbed this shot of me...she loves it because it's so very quintessentially me: polka dots, camera, red, and you can even sorta see my red chuck taylors.


(ps: the super blonde is going away soooon...i am not the kind of girl who can handle maintaining those roots every 3 weeks. GROSS!)

claire & ben: engaged

i have a problem. i'm not very good with exclusiveness. i SAY i have favourites...but it carries a bit less weight when i tell EVERY NEW COUPLE they are my favourites.

so. claire and ben are my favourite couple getting married in february of 2008. the fact that they are the ONLY ones who've hired me for a wedding that month (thus far) should mean nothing to you, because if they were not awesome, they would not have earned the favourite title.

claire is a minister and went to harvard divinity school...she's very unassuming about it, and i had to ask her directly where she went to seminary. smarty-pants. i can't remember what ben does, but he is very nice, and he likes claire a lot...there is little in the world more endearing than a guy thoroughly wrapped up in his girl. maybe baby fingers/toes, but...that's a close one.



anyway, they met at...wait for it...adult kickball. isn't that the most amazing thing you've ever heard? it made me want to run out and join a league, but the closest ones are portland, me and the boston area, and neither of those are really close enough. so. i will sit here, living free instead of dying, in nh...kickballless.

but you didn't come here for that. you want to see photos, yes?

we met in newburyport, ma for our session...grabbed a few shots downtown, and then headed out to maudslay state park. there just HAPPENED to be a playground right near where we met, and apparently they were swayed by my pathetic longing...i've been dying to do some playground e-session shots for...many months. they were totally up for it and laughed right along with me at the logistical difficulties of positioning two adults in a child-sized crawl-through tube.


anyone who does photos with me in newburyport will have "the coke wall" shot. it is basically my favourite thing in the entire town.

(this was their favourite, but i think i like the next one just as well.)



one of the things i love about my job is getting to know the different couples who hire me...another wedding photographer friend of mine once described the relationship as something like...temporary best friends. i get to see lots of intimate moments and they've got to trust me to capture those things. i am genuinely interested when i ask about their stories...how'd you meet, what are your "things"...funniest moments, etc. claire's got one of the cutest "things" i've seen yet. she likes to smell ben's head. she pulls it down towards her, closes her eyes, and breathes in deep. "pheremones: they're real," she announced to me.



(kissing down by the river is better than living in a van down by the river, right?)



one last thing i love about these two: they've both got hyphenated last names...so they're picking one from each and creating a new hyphenated identity...just for the two of them...to start their new family. fabulous.